O Root of Jesse; Key of David

Someone recently referred to the use of the O Antiphons in the past tense (“these were used…”). Well, yes, they were. But they still are being used. I use one of the O Antiphons each evening, praying it before and after the Magnificat.

The most-used shared daily reading of the scriptures is the daily eucharistic lectionary. From 17-24 December it is linked to the dates, not to the days of the week. And each set of readings has its own Gospel Acclamation, the Gradual Alleluia Tract.

On 17 December this is:

Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse, set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save us,
and delay no more.
Alleluia!

On 18 December this is:

Alleluia, alleluia!
Ruler of the House of Israel,
who gave the law to Moses on Sinai,
come and save us with outstretched arm.
Alleluia!

So even those who do not pray the evening office encounter the image in each O Antiphon day by day as they celebrate daily Eucharist.

12 Responses to O Root of Jesse; Key of David

I like the idea of using the Antiphons as the basis for Gospel Alleluias on these seven days. It’s not part of the tradition here in the Church of England. Are these texts from the New Zealand Prayer Book, or some other source?

Thanks, John Paul (please can you remember to put your ordinary name here, thanks). There must be churches in CofE that use an Alleluia Gradual verse before the Gospel reading – or are you saying there are, but they source the verse differently? I took these particular texts from the Roman Missal. I think there is no hint of the O Antiphons in NZPB, but I would be very happy to be proved wrong. Advent Blessings.

Thanks, Bosco. Yes – of course the use of Alleluia verses is fairly widespread here, at least in the more Catholic parishes. I hadn’t come across these particular texts. though I have now found them in the Roman Missal. It’s curious, isn’t it, that the days on which each text is used doesn’t correspond, for the most part, with the day on which the equivalent O Antiphon is used?

Many thanks for continuing to run such an interesting resource.

(By the way, although my given name is John Paul, I’m universally known as JP – I wasn’t trying to hide!)

In the Missal the order of the Acclamations is, from 17-24 December: Wisdom – Ruler – Root of Jesse – Emmanuel OR Key of David – Key of David OR Emmanuel – Root of Jessue OR King – King – Morning Star. In other words, the sequence runs for eight days, not seven; and is not in the traditional order of ERO CRAS reversed. Odd! See http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/Weekday/Advent.shtml

The Antiphons are extensively used in the Church of England. They find their place at the Magnificat in ‘Common Worship Daily Prayer’, and are also referenced in ‘Common Worship Times and Seasons’, together with a helpful alternative Lectionary for Evening Prayer. ‘The Promise of His Glory’ also included them and made some imaginative suggestions for their use in Advent Carol Services and Services of Penitence.
Many Parishes find that the simplest way to use the authorised daily Eucharistic Readings is in the form provided in the various (RC) Weekday Missals, where they are, as you say, provided as Gospel Acclamations, though some are not used on their traditional days.

Bosco, I love the O Antiphons, and I’ve posted the video of the antiphons chanted by the Dominican student brothers of Blackfriars in Oxford since 2007, the year I started blogging. The brothers have chants for only seven days, so I follow their lead and omit O Virgo Virginum.

Thanks, June. Yes, that’s how I pray them, conscious that’s how others are praying them all around the world – started off here in NZ. I’m trying to find out why the Mass versions disconnect. Blessings.